Conservation Agreements used in private land conservation
In Private Land Conservation (PLC) we use conservation agreements as voluntary contractual tools that can either transfer land use rights relevant for conservation from a landowner to an NGO (e.g., in the form of a stewardship agreement) or restrict uses of land owned for conservation purposes when it is leased to an external party (conservation lease contracts).
Based on our experiences, EU policies and by acknowledging that conservation agreements exist in all EU countries, the report has two aims: first, to identify these shared trades and cluster conservation agreements; and second, to create definitions of conservation agreements that are applicable across EU countries.
Click to read the factsheets
Explore our Reports
Comparing Conservation Tools
Main characteristics
Conservation tools have some key characteristics that differentiate them from each other
Land stewardship
Conservation easements
Conservation leases
Privately protected areas
Result based payment schemes
Temporary nature
Voluntary, flexible temporal agreement for conservation purposes.
Voluntary, for conservation purpose and in perpetuity or long-term contract. Usually restricts uses on land. Rights “run with the land”.
Voluntary, to ensure that land use is compatible with nature conservation or restoration objectives.
Geographical space, recognised, dedicated and managed, through legal or other means, to achieve the long-term conservation of nature under private governance.
Farmer or land manager is given flexibility to choose the most appropriate practices to achieve a defined environmental result in exchange for a payment.
Voluntary and temporal instrument to allow landowners derogations from the requirements of species conservation law before endangered species emerge on the property.
Land rights or legal requirements
Conservation tools differ in the legal requirements and land rights connected to it
Land stewardship
Conservation easements
Conservation leases
Privately protected areas
Result based payment schemes
Temporary nature
Management support or management transfer where land rights stay with the owner. Subject to real rights or personal rights.
Burdens landowner and future owners as rights “run with the land”. Easement holder has the right to enforce the terms and landowner has the obligation to respect the terms.
Management transfer where land rights stay with the owner.
Usually requires an instrument that is binding on current and future successors in title. Requires state recognition.
Land rights stay with the landowner. RBAPS projects are delivered through result indicators. Farmers will have multiple obligations to achieve a specific nature conservation objective.
Land rights stay with the landowner.
A voluntary legal agreement must be needed between property owners and governments.
Economic transactions
Conservation tools differ in economic incentives that are connected to the agreements
Land stewardship
Conservation easements
Conservation leases
Privately protected areas
Result based payment schemes
Temporary nature
No economic transactions are involved
Transactional costs and costs associated to land register, monitoring and enforcement. Compensation for given up rights is sometimes available e.g. in form of tax incentive
Economic transactions in form of the lease are involved
No direct economic transaction, but sometimes there are fiscal benefits for landowners
Payments done according to different criteria, based on the achievement of the conservation goals
No direct costs associated. Landowners can save money by reducing expenditure to prevent nature to appear on the property
Duration
Conservation tools differ in their duration
Land stewardship
Conservation easements
Conservation leases
Privately protected areas
Result based payment schemes
Temporary nature
Temporal and variable
Designed to last in perpetuity but can be temporary
Temporary and variable
Case dependent (i.e. 10, 20, 30 or more years)
Country specific but can normally offer contracts of no more than five years
Country specific (typically up to 10 years)